Saving Connor
by broadwaybaby2010
Summary: Adam Stevens refuses to accept his son Connor as gay. Not only is he gay, but he has a boyfriend - Jude. Adam isn't about to take this lying down. He makes a plan for how to 'help' his son. But how will this plan affect Connor? How will Jude handle it? And can the Foster family intervene to help save Jude and Connor's relationship?
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Hello everyone! Please see my more full length author's note at the end of this chapter._**

 ** _For now, here is the obligatory message that I don't own "The Fosters" or the characters. I only own the original storyline and writing of this fic. No copyright infringement is intended at any point in this fic._**

 ** _This fic is currently rated T. It may be changed to M in the future, depending on how the story develops._**

 **Saving Connor**

Jude and Connor sat in Jude's room, door open as required. Connor was absorbed in a video game and it felt to Jude that he was being ignored. Connor had gotten much better about gaming and usually either included Jude or they chose a different activity when they were together – kissing being a choice they both enjoyed. But today, Connor was barely speaking and Jude was concerned. "Connor? You okay?" Jude finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yeah," Connor replied, still focused on the screen.

Jude knew him better than that. "Connor. Come on. Talk to me. Please?"

Connor threw the game unceremoniously onto the floor before getting to his feet and crossing to the shelf across the room, examining some nondescript knick-knack. "I'm fine, Jude," Connor insisted, keeping his back to his boyfriend. He couldn't bring himself to face him.

"No, you're not," Jude insisted as he made his way over to gently touch Connor's shoulder. Connor shrugged it off, making Jude's stomach drop.

"What did I do?" Jude asked, half under his breath, the hurt in his voice palpable.

Connor let out a small sigh and gave in, finally turning to Jude. "You didn't do anything, Jude," he cooed, brushing his thumb across Jude's cheek, Jude leaning against his hand to savor the touch.

"Then what's going on? You aren't acting like yourself."

Connor took a deep breath and grabbed Jude's hand, leading him over to Jude's bed, both of them sitting on the edge beside each other. Connor stared at the floor, desperately searching for the right words. "My… my dad is sending me away."

"What?" Jude was so confused.

"To… some… camp. In another state," Connor explained, each word paining him to say aloud.

"It's the middle of the school year. You can't just go away to camp, you'll be missing school."

"It's not like summer camp, Jude." Connor desperately hoped that Jude would catch on so he didn't have to explain.

"Then what kind of camp is it?"

Connor fought back the anger that was bubbling inside of him, the anger that had burst from his mouth when his father had told him he was sending Connor away. He wasn't angry with Jude but rather at his dad and what he was doing. He couldn't afford to snap at Jude. "It's a camp for kids like us… me. For gay kids."

Jude's eyebrows furrowed. This made no sense. "Adam wants you to go meet more gay kids? That doesn't seem like something he would want you to do…." Adam, Connor's dad, had had a huge problem with Connor coming out as gay. He had had a huge problem even thinking that Jude was gay and Connor being around him. Why would he be sending Connor somewhere he could meet more gay boys?

"No, Jude, it's…. they're supposed to… This camp is supposed to 'fix' kids like us," Connor forced out. A said the word 'fix' as if it tasted nasty on his tongue.

"What? There's… there's nothing to fix. There's nothing wrong with you."

"Well, my dad thinks there is, obviously."

Silence fell over the room, pressing down on the two boys. Jude wanted to scream, protest, tell Connor to just stay with him. But part of him knew that would just make it harder on Connor. "When?" was what Jude settled on, speaking at barely a whisper.

"I leave Sunday…."

Jude fought the tears that were forcing their way to the surface. "How long?"

"Until…" Connor took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy to say to Jude. "Until I'm cured…."

Jude felt like his heart had stopped. The oppressive silence settled in again and the boys both stared at the floor, unable to look at each other. Jude could feel his face turning red as his eyes welled with tears he could no longer control. Connor dared to drift his eyes toward to Jude and felt the pang of guilt hit him square in the gut.

Before he could force his eyes back to the ground, he caught sight of the bright red time glaring from the alarm clock on Jude's bedside table. "Shit!" Connor mumbled, jumping to his feet. "I have to go, Jude; I'm sorry. If I don't, my dad will come looking for me."

Jude's tear streak face shot toward Connor with sudden realization. Adam didn't know Connor was there with him. Connor shoved all of his stuff back into his backpack and started for the door before Jude jumped up and calling for him. "Connor!" Connor froze momentarily, turning back to Jude. Jude ran over to Connor and took his face in his hands, pulling Connor down into a soft kiss. Jude's tears stuck to Connor's cheeks as their lips moved against each other. Jude dared run his tongue over Connor's bottom lip, sending a way of intoxication through both boys.

Sooner than either would have like, they pulled apart, a tear threatening to brim in the corner of Connor's eye. "Jude, I…I have to go…" Connor said painfully, forcing his body to move away from Jude. Jude gave him a tear-filled nod as he watched until Connor was out of sight down the stairs.

Connor made his way to the entryway, working on slipping on his tennis shoes when Stef came up from the dining room. "Leaving so soon, Connor?" she asked, leaning on her arm against the doorframe.

"My dad wants me home," Connor explained simply, working on his other shoe.

"Where's Jude? He should walk you out. He's knows better than that," Stef questioned, heading toward the stairs to call to her youngest son.

"It's okay, Mrs. Adams-Foster, really. I'm in a hurry. But thank you for having me over," he quavered slightly, fighting with the emotion of seeing Jude in a hot mess of tears. It wouldn't be fair for her to pull Jude out of his room with how upset Connor knew him to be.

"Anytime, Connor," Stef assured him, opening the door for him, watching as he got on his bike and rode off. As she closed the front door, she turned and took off up the stairs, wondering what had gotten into the usually over polite Jude. When she got to the doorway of Jude and Jesus's room, she stopped and observed. Jude was face down in his pillow, his body heaving slightly in what looked to be sobs. Stef rushed to her son's side, sitting on the edge of his bed and rubbing her hand over his back. "What's wrong, love? What's going on?"

"Connor has to go away," Jude muffled into his pillow, not able to turn to look at his mom.

"Oh honey…." Stef worked to try to calm her son's sobs, but let him cry it out until he had little to no energy left. When the sobs calmed to a slight sniffle, Stef ventured to speak to him again. "I'm really sorry, sweetie…. Did he say where he was going?"

"Out of state somewhere…."

"When does he leave?"

"Sunday."

Stef's eyebrows raised. That sure was a quick decision to move…. "He can come over as much as you want between now and then, okay? And we'll… we'll go visit him or something after he's settled." Stef was trying to comfort Jude, but she knew that losing a best friend and a first love was not going to be easy on Jude, particularly with how often he himself had been moved around. As soon as he would make a friend, he would have to leave again. Now that he was in a safe, permanent home, it was the friend that was leaving him….

"It's not like –" but he was cut off as Jesus and Mariana bounded into the room, arguing about something or other that Jude wasn't about to spend energy on figuring out.

"Out!" Stef called, interrupting the twins' argument.

"This is my room, too!" Jesus protested, but he knew he wasn't going to win that fight.

"Out!" Step yelled again. "I will be down to sort this out in a minute." The twins took off back down the stairs, their argument picking back up. "You okay, love?" Stef asked, still concerned for Jude, but worried about the potential brawl that could start at any moment downstairs.

Jude wanted to scream, "HELL NO, I'M NOT OKAY! MY BOYFRIEND IS BEING SENT AWAY TO BE MADE STRAIGHT AND IT FEELS LIKE IT'S MY FAULT FOR BEING HIS BOYFRIEND!" but he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to force words out. So he gave his mom a shrug for a response.

Stef gave him a peck on the top of the head. "I'll be downstairs if you need me, hopefully keeping your brother and sister from getting blood all over the living room." Jude gave a small chuckle to satisfy Stef before she got up and headed down the stairs, yelling, "You two better figure this out because you won't like the answer if I have to get involved!"

Alone again, Jude pulled out his phone, hoping to have a message from Connor. Nothing. He pulled up his boyfriend's messenger thread and typed out a text – R u okay? – and anxiously waited for the reply.

Finally, the chirp came through to tell Jude he had a message. His heart skipped a beat, but that was before he read the message. As soon as he did, he had to fight the bile threatening to spew from his throat – the words "Leave him alone you little fag" blazed across the screen.

 ** _A/N: Ugh, how I hate that word from Adam's text. Sorry. But it makes me cringe and I could barely bring myself to type it. But I hope you are intrigued now! This idea for a fic popped into my head as I was rewatching the first three seasons of "The Fosters." When Adam first found out about Connor's sexuality, he said he was going to pull him from Anchor Beach. This, to me, was what he was thinking at that point._**

 ** _I will admit that this writing process is going to be very different from my other fics – usually, I outline my fics or at least know how long I want them to be or what I want to happen at the climax. Basically, I usually have more than a beginning. Not with this fic. So, I will be anxiously awaiting your feedback and I welcome any ideas you have for this story going forward. Obviously I won't be able to please everyone, but rest assured that you will get an awesome shout out if I choose to use your suggestion at all and that I respect and appreciate any ideas you submit to me._**

 ** _Thank you for reading and I hope to have some more written for you soon!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: With the current season of "The Fosters" (Season 4) taking Jude into a new relationship, I wanted to get some more of this story written before I get pulled too deeply into his new storyline. Besides, I was too excited when I finally figured out where to take this story for now to not write more. Enjoy!_**

 **Saving Connor**

"Jesus, go up and get Jude for dinner, please," Stef told her middle son, her hands still busy serving up the salad to each plate.

"Why do I have to go?" Jesus protested, forever the indignant one.

Stef let out a sigh, already frustrated from refereeing his argument with Mariana earlier. "Because you're our favorite. Now go."

"I thought I was your favorite," Brandon fake pouted, remembering when his mom had used the same line on him to get him to go upstairs after Mariana when she pierced her nose.

"You're all our favorite," Lena jumped in, giving Brandon a kiss on the top of his head. "Please, go, Jesus," she reiterated for her wife. With a sigh of frustration, Jesus complied, storming off. "I'm worried about Jude. I've barely seen him today," Lena commented, hoping another member of her family could provide some insight.

"I'll explain later, hon," Stef half-whispered to Lena but was clearly overheard by the others.

"Is Jude okay?" Mariana butted in.

"He will be. Finish setting the table, please," Step told her daughter, working to distract from the topic of Jude.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the Foster house, Jesus had stormed into the room he shared with Jude, banging loudly open-handed on the doorframe in attempts to rouse his brother who was lying face down on his bed. "Yo, Jude. Come on. Dinnertime."

"Tell Moms I'm not hungry," Jude told him, his voice muffled as he talking into his pillow.

"Dude, you know that doesn't work on Moms. They'll come up here. It's easier if you just –"

"Just leave me alone!" Jude snapped, catching Jesus off guard. This wasn't like Jude.

"Fine, man. I was just trying to help," Jesus muttered before going back downstairs.

"Where's Jude?" Stef asked, seeing Jesus enter the room alone.

"Said he's not hungry," Jesus explained, swinging his leg over the stool to sit in his usual spot, his eyes trained on the table.

"Maybe I should go check on him," Lena said, taking her napkin from her lap and standing.

"And I told him that you would. He yelled at me."

"He yelled at you?" Callie piped in, shocked at her little brother's behavior.

"Yeah. Something must really have him messed up."

"I'll be back. Go ahead and eat, guys," Lena said, heading toward the stairs.

As she passed behind her wife, Stef reached out, grabbing her by the hand. "Love, he, uh… he found out Connor's moving." Lena let out a sigh, knowing this was not going to be easy. A wave of realization washed over the rest of the Fosters kids, particularly Jesus who finally looked up from the table, a look of concern for his little brother covering his features.

Lena softly knocked on the doorframe of Jude and Jesus's room, the door having been left open from Jesus's previous attempt to talk with Jude. "Hey," she softly prodded, taking a couple of small, tentative steps into the darkening room. Jude didn't move. Lena pressed a bit harder. "Mom told me Connor and his dad are moving." Jude's head thrashed against his pillow, a sort of shaking of his head 'no'. "They aren't?" Lena asked, genuinely confused.

Jude turned his head to the side to say, "Just Connor," before burying his head back in the pillow.

Lena was still confused and her son wasn't helping to clarify. "Is he going to live with his mom?" Jude's head thrashed again. Lena was running out of ideas. "Is he… transferring to a boarding school for baseball?"

"He's being sent away because he's gay!" Jude practically screamed, his face a hot mess of tears.

"What?" Lena rushed to sit on the edge of Jude's bed. Jude turned himself over to lay his head in Lean's lap. She was slighting surprised by this abrupt switch, but soon recovered from her shock, her hand rubbing comforting circles onto Jude's back. Lena let Jude cry for a bit in her embrace, but when his sobs calmed to more of silent tears, she tried to press for more information. "Did Connor say where he was going?" Lena was trying to measure her words carefully, not wanting to set Jude off again.

Jude swiped at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Some… camp. Out of state."

Lena fought to keep her breathing calm. She was piecing together what this meant and it wasn't good. "And this camp is for… kids who are gay?"

Jude fought to form words, only barely managing a whisper. "He said it was to fix gay kids."

Lena fought her gut, forcing her anger down to focus on Jude. "You know there's nothing wrong with you or Connor, right?"

Jude gave a meek nod. "But it feels like it's my fault."

"Like what's your fault, bud?"

"That he's being sent away….Because I was his boyfriend."

"You _were_?" Lena asked, listening carefully to Jude's words.

"Well, am. But after he leaves, if he's… ya know, going to be straight…."

"Jude, honey, listen," Lena told him, helping him to sit up. She took him by the shoulders and look him square in the eyes, having to dip her hand slightly to catch his gaze. "It is not your fault. Connor would be who he is whether or not you two decided to date –"

"But his dad wouldn't have known if it weren't for –"

"No, Jude. I think Adam has at least suspected Connor was gay for quite some time. I think that had more to do with why he fought so hard to keep you two apart. This is not your fault and there is nothing to fix – with you or with Connor." Lena took Jude into a fierce hug, holding him close, wishing her embrace could protect him from all the hate and bigotry in the world. "Did you try to text him?" Lena asked, finally pulling away.

"His uh – dad has his phone," Jude explained simply, not wanting his Momma to worry about the text that had obviously been sent by Adam.

"Okay, well… you'll at least see him at school tomorrow…." Jude gave her a small nod. They both knew it was a consolation considering the circumstances, but it was all Lena could manage that seemed reassuring. "I'll send a plate up for you a bit later, okay? Your homework done?"

Another nod from Jude. "I finished it before Connor came over."

"That's my boy," Lena reassured him with a kiss to the top of the head. "Get some rest, bud." Heading back toward the stairs, she paused and watched Jude settle back into his bed. Her heart was broken for her son and for Connor as she went back down to the rest of her family.

When Lena reappeared in the doorway to the kitchen, Stef looked up and could see the pain in her wife's eyes. "Stef, can you come in the living room with me for a minute?" There was a stern, almost cold tone to her voice that Lena had to put on to keep her emotions at bay.

"Sure, love," Stef said cautiously. "Brandon, you can serve up ice cream once everyone finishes. One bowl only." She added the last statement looking directly at Jesus who put his arms up in a defensive position. She then followed Lena into the living room.

The kids all looked at each other in silence for a moment, all of them obviously knowing that something major was happening. Mariana quickly glanced toward the doorway, making sure their moms were fully out of the room. "So, are we just going to sit here or are we going to go eavesdrop so we know what the hell is going on?" The answer Mariana expected was obvious – eavesdropping – but others were not so sure.

"Moms would kill us if they found out," Brandon protested.

"Okay, but maybe we can help Jude," Mariana fought back. "Come on," she urged, tip-toeing toward to the dining room, careful not to go too far and into their moms' view. With varying degrees of reluctance, the others joined her.

Lena didn't even sit down when she got into the living room, showing Stef that this was a serious situation. "What's going on, love?" Stef asked, trying to think what could possibly be so bad.

"Connor isn't moving. He's being sent to conversion therapy," Lena explained, her anger at the situation seeping into her tone.

"What?" Stef was shocked.

"He told Jude he was being sent to a camp that fixes gay kids. I can't believe Adam would do this. He told me he was going to pull Connor from Anchor Beach, but I never expected him to do this."

"Oh, I can believe it. If he would ban Jude from seeing Connor just on the suspicion that _Jude_ was gay, I would hate to see what happened when Connor came out."

"What are we going to do?" Lena's eyes were on fire.

"Unfortunately, I don't think there is anything we _can_ do, love," Stef admitted, hating the fact they were powerless to help.

"You're kidding, right?! Isn't conversion therapy illegal?"

"In California, yes. But not everywhere unfortunately. If Adam is sending Connor out of state, it's probably somewhere it's still legal."

Lena couldn't believe what her wife was saying. How could she not want to help Connor? "Those places are basically torture! How is it not… child abuse or something to send him there?"

Stef had to admit that her wife had a point. "I'll look into it, okay, love? I'll see if there is any precedent to interfere. But right now, we need to worry about our son."

Lena softened. She knew her wife was right and it helped to know that Stef would be looking into the legality of the situation. "He's heartbroken. He blames himself."

"Poor kid. Should we talk to him?"

"I did, but I didn't know what more to tell him other than making sure he knew that there is nothing wrong with him or Connor….."

Stef gave a solemn nod, also unsure of what else to do for her son at that moment. "Think he's hungry?"

"I kind of doubt it. I feel sick to my stomach – I can only imagine what he's feeling. But I figured I would take him a plate up to his room anyway as soon as the kids were done."

Hearing their momma mention them, the four oldest kids of the Foster house gave a small start.

"Speaking of, they are awfully quiet," Stef mused skeptically, taking a couple of steps toward the dining room.

"Go, go!" Jesus whispered, ushering his siblings back to the kitchen where Brandon frantically got out the gallon of ice cream as Callie grabbed bowls and set them out for each of them.

"Pretend you're finishing," Brandon whispered frantically as Stef's footsteps echoed on her path into the kitchen.

"Dude, I want my ice cream -" Jesus protested.

Mariana cut off her twin with an elbow to the ribs. "Shut up," she told him through gritted teeth just before their mom came back in the room.

"Done already?" she asked, observing the empty bowls. There were nondescript nods from Callie, Brandon, and Mariana. "Well, clear your places and head up for homework," Stef instructed, the kids oddly silent.

The kids did as they were told and, as a group, they climbed the stairs. On the landing, they gathered into a huddle and kept their conversation hushed. "We can't let Connor be sent to that place," Mariana insisted to her siblings.

"But what are we supposed to do? Moms don't even know what to do," Jesus huffed.

"I don't know just yet, but we are not going to let Connor's dad send him away. For Jude."

"For Jude," they all whispered in response before separating to their individual rooms for the night.

 ** _A/N: Thank you to those of you who have read and followed "Saving Connor" so far. A special thank you to the two guest reviewers who left suggestions for me after chapter one. I am definitely taking them into consideration and may use them in some way a bit later. I roughly knew that this was what would happen in this chapter, but I didn't know how to end it until I finally came up with Mariana's plan (which you'll learn in probably the chapter after next)._**

 ** _Suggestions are welcome! Your thoughts might trigger a great idea that helps this story take off even more!_**


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